


To Grandma's House We Go

by craterdweller



Series: Ordinary Moments of an Extraordinary Team [2]
Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Holidays, Post-Series, Road Trips
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-29
Updated: 2015-08-29
Packaged: 2018-04-17 22:25:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4683611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/craterdweller/pseuds/craterdweller
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sam and Vala drive to the Mitchell family farmhouse for Christmas. Loosely follows the events of Sam's Place. Set post-season 10</p>
            </blockquote>





	To Grandma's House We Go

Colonel Samantha Carter sighed as she took a quick look at the GPS mounted on the dashboard. The snow flurries had turned to a more ominous storm. With the increasingly hazardous driving conditions she estimated they were at least another hour from the Mitchell family farmhouse.

Her road trip companion reached over and patted her shoulder in sympathy. “Don’t worry, Samantha. You will be with your general soon.”  She fiddled with the radio again, pausing when she came across Geri Halliwell’s cover of “It’s Raining Men.” With a huge grin, Vala Mal Doran started singing along, choosing to ignore the sigh elicited from Sam.

Sam rolled her eyes but couldn’t completely suppress her grin. This song was so totally Vala and she had to admire her friend’s enthusiasm, even if she didn’t currently share her good mood. _What on earth had possessed her to drive to Kansas from Colorado in late December?_

“What do you think the boys are up to?”

“Helping Cam’s grandma, I’d imagine.”

“But, do they even know how to cook?”

Sam giggled. Of all the men, Jack was probably the best cook, and like everything else about him, a rather unorthodox style and one not likely appreciated by Cam’s grandmother. Somehow she couldn’t imagine beer as an ingredient in a traditional Mitchell family Christmas dinner. Her stomach growled and she frowned trying to recall the last time they had stopped.

“Look, there’s a place,” Vala pointed to a billboard advertising food.

Sam hesitated. She was anxious to get to Mitchell’s. The storm was getting worse and she had no desire to be stranded. “Vala, do we have cell reception?”

Vala powered up her cell. No signal. “Maybe we could use one of those charge phones and call the boys. They must be worried by now.”

“Pay phone. And you’re probably right.”  She took the next exit and followed the directions to what could best be described as a roadhouse. Thankfully the open sign was still lit and there were a few cars in the parking lot.

They parked close to the entrance to minimize their exposure to the weather.  A hush fell over the bar when they walked in and as they looked around they noticed they were the only women. _Wonderful. But not necessarily a threat._

“Howdy boys,” Vala said with a big smile.

 _Oh boy._ Sam shot Vala a pleading look to behave, which of course went unnoticed or unheeded.

As Vala flirted with the room, Sam kept close just in case things got out of hand. But Vala had a way with people, not unlike Jack when he wanted to turn on the charm, and soon the bartender was placing a phone on the counter.

“Samantha, dear. Do you have Cameron’s number?”

Sam fished out her cell, which still had zero bars and scrolled through her contact list until she found the number and held it out to Vala.

Vala shook her head and said, “No, you’d better call. That general of yours is likely mounting a rescue about now. I think he’d prefer to hear that you’re fine from you.”  She smiled and took the proffered menus. “I’ll order us a snack.”

Sam bit her lip. Vala should have enough experience with earth food by now and she was right about Jack. She dialed the Mitchell farmhouse and spoke a few words with Mrs. Mitchell before asking for Jack. Judging from the sounds in the background, Mrs. Mitchell may have had to slap Jack’s hands away a few times before handing over the receiver.

“Carter! Are you alright? Are you stuck? Where are you? Why haven’t you called?”

“Jack.” She took another breath and tried again. “Jack! We’re fine. There was no cell coverage, and when we realized how late it was getting we decided to try and find a phone.”

She could hear him take a calming breath. “Where are you?”  She repeated the name of the bar. From the murmur of voices in the background, Cam or more likely one of his parents knew of the place. “Mitchell says it not too far from here, but the storm is picking up. We’re going to take his Dad’s truck and come get you. We can come back for your car when the storm’s passed.”

Sam silently thanked the stars that she and Vala had rented a car. She loved her classic Volvo and would have hated leaving it in a strange place, even overnight. She briefly considered telling Jack to sit tight, but knew he’d never go for it. Nothing short of seeing them both safe would alleviate his worry. “Okay, but please drive carefully.”

Jack grunted in response. “See ya soon, Carter. Might as well grab a snack, it may take us a little while.”

Sam joined Vala at a table near the jukebox which up until now had been blessedly silent. The proprietor, whose name was Joe, stopped by with a couple of cups of steaming coffee before retreating back to the kitchen. “What did you order?”

“Something called Buffalo wings, which I don’t quite understand, because Buffalo don’t have wings, so I had to see what they were for myself. Oh, and onion rings and french fries.”

Sam smiled at her friend, glad that despite the weather delay, that they had decided on this impromptu road trip.  Both Cameron and Daniel had separately pulled Sam aside in Colorado Springs and questioned whether she really wanted to spend a couple of days driving with Vala rather than flying. But Jack was stuck in meetings and couldn’t get away until Christmas Eve and Sam didn’t particularly relish spending a lot of time on a farm. Well, without Jack at least. Not wanting to hurt Cam’s feelings, she had used her alien friend as a willing excuse. After all, Vala hadn’t seen much of this planet. All that remained was to convince General Landry. After numerous promises and assurances, they waved goodbye to the guys and got underway. That was four days ago. Four days of shopping, sightseeing and good company.

Vala finally settled on “Please Come Home for Christmas” from the jukebox. It was a holiday favorite of Sam’s. The front door slammed open and in walked Jack, trailed closely by Daniel Jackson and Cameron Mitchell. “Darlings!” Vala exclaimed as she hugged first Jack, then the other two.

Jack returned the hug hesitantly. He knew of Vala’s reputation as a flirt and presumed that she didn’t mean anything by it, but still his eyes sought Sam’s for understanding. A Sam that was grinning broadly, laughing even, at his discomfort. Then all thoughts fled his mind as she enveloped him in a rather exuberant hug of her own. “C’mon,” she urged tugging on his hand and leading him back to their table, “the wings are still hot.”

As the group settled in to wait out the worst of the storm, Sam noticed someone missing. “Where’s Teal’c?”

“He stayed behind to help my Grandma,” MItchell replied. “Although now that I think about it, she did give him generous first tastes on all her baking yesterday.”

Sam smiled contentedly, her belly full and surrounded by those she loved. She asked Jack, “When did you get in?”

“A few hours ago. All the commercial flights were booked, delayed or cancelled.”

“You flew in on a transport?”

He shook his head. “Meeting with the President went extra late. The Daedalus beamed me in.”

“And Grandma whacked him with her rolling pin. Good thing the general still has good reflexes and she only caught his shoulder,” Mitchell chimed in.

The women burst into uncontrolled giggles at the thought of a three star general attacked by a little old lady with a rolling pin.

“Storm’s let up,” the proprietor said as he delivered the bill. “You all run on home now and have a Merry Christmas.”

Sam and Vala exchanged fond smiles and then grasped the hand of their significant others. _This might be the best Christmas yet. And one heck of a road trip._

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Written for a livejournal challenge with a picture prompt of a compass. Also fills trope_bingo square for theme of Road Trip.


End file.
